 Until the introduction of Elekta Synergy®, the delivery of radiation therapy had to rely on assumptions about target location based on historical data which could be a week or more old at the time of treatment. The latest radiation therapy techniques, such as intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), are based on sparing the maximum healthy tissue from inadvertent irradiation. This in turn requires that the margins placed around the tumor are minimized, thus precision and accuracy of targeting are critical to success. Elekta already provide iViewGT™, a portal imaging system - however, for targets surrounded by critical organs, such systems rely on surrogate markers implanted within tumors to determine their location, as portal images can not be used to differentiate between soft tissues.
| | Elekta® XVI (X-ray Volume Imaging) technology enables visualization of soft tissue detail in any area of the body. Utilization of this functionality enables two potential effects on patient outcomes. Firstly the potential to minimize side effects of radiation therapy by reducing the margins previously set to account for uncertainties of target dimensions/location/movement and secondly the potential to adopt dose escalation and hypo-fractionation regimes in the confidence that a 3D plan will be delivered as an accurately targeted 3D treatment. Elekta Synergy is the world’s first linear accelerator to feature integrated 3D volume imaging functionality. This allows an image of the tumor site with CT-like quality to be acquired using XVI technology and reconstructed immediately before treatment, with the patient already set-up in the treatment position. Elekta Synergy thereby forms the foundation for 4D adaptive image guided radiation therapy. VolumeView™ image quality allows differentiation of soft tissues and thereby determination of the target’s size, shape and location in relation to critical structures. This data can then be compared with the original planning scan on which the treatment plan was based. If the patient simply needs to be moved, the treatment table can be controlled remotely to do so. If the tumor is no longer where it was or has changed shape or size then the treatment plan or MLC setting can be modified as appropriate. If the tumor is likely to move during treatment (for example a lung tumor during respiration) then appropriate margins can be set using MotionView™ (sequential) imaging. Elekta Synergy directly addresses clinical concerns regarding organ motion and deformation and uncertainties in repeating and maintaining the set-up of the patient - thereby inspiring clinical confidence in the practice of advanced radiation therapy techniques. | |
